Frustrated by a lack of informed and honest review websites covering a wide range of electronic music, I write them myself.

Thursday, September 6, 2018

Kubinski - Life Boy

Werkstatt Recordings: 2015

I think I'm about ready to tap out with regards to Werkstatt material. Don't get me wrong, I'm by no means turning my back on the synth label, and I'll keep tabs on the artists on their roster I've enjoyed. In buying up so many of their bulk deals, however, I fear I've burned myself out on their general aesthetic. There's only so much anonymous, amateur music production I can take before the novelty of it all wears down, and one thing has become clear, Werkstatt head Toxic Razor takes a 'toss every dart at the board' approach with whom he releases. When he hits that bull's-eye, *chef's kiss*, but I've come across a number of artists hugging the outer ring numbers too.

This Life Boy from Kubinski lands somewhere in those big open spaces between the double and triple point rings, possibly in the eight or nine slot, the dart at a slightly askew angle, as thrown by an individual with at least a half-dozen pints previously consumed. Man, is that ever a specific metaphor. One of the unique things about this chap is he hails from Porto Alegre, a city on the southern end of Brazil. Or Rio De Janeiro, depending on which source you go with (forever battling, are Lord Discogs and King Bandcamp). Regardless, it's cool Werkstatt will give a little shine to what's undoubtedly a completely neglected scene. When we think of Brazilian music, it's hyper-sexual Latin dance music, or whatever quirky jazz offspring has sprung up (there's always a new one every decade). And with regards to electronic dance music in South America, it's always the Chilean tech-haus dudes who get the glory. Kubinski proves there's more music in that region than what gets all the sexy exposes.

Man though, could this album have used another once-over on the production department. We're firmly in chipper synth-pop territory here, with splashes of synthwave for good measure, but I can barely hear Kubinksi's lyrics over the big 'n gaudy synths. His vocals are drenched in echo and reverb, capturing that vintage '80s feel where everything was drenched in echo and reverb, but at least I could understand what those singers were saying, even when obscured by thick accents and broken English. Even on the more stripped-back tunes like Baroque and M.O.V.I.N. though, I've difficulty understanding much of what he's saying. Matter Of Time fares better, where the lyrics are clear and upfront, displaying a Tiga charm that only sparingly peaks through in the other songs. D.Day is also fun, in that the musical muscle behind it is strong enough to override the buried vocals.

I dunno. The ideas are there, but the execution on Life Boy is just off to my ears. I kinda' preferred his previous, pure synthwave EPs. Like, how can you not dig the retro-charm of Blade Revenge, a ninja overlooking a 16-bit skyline? Or Reach featuring a glorious beauty-shot of Saturn looming over a vector grid? *chef's kiss*